


What the Heart Wants

by foghaslifted



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: AU, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, New Dream Week 2021 (Disney), Secret Relationship, basically an enemies to lovers speedrun, i refuse to write anything where theyre not madly in love /hj, they dont like each other for about 5 seconds then they fall in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:35:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29532066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foghaslifted/pseuds/foghaslifted
Summary: Eugene was after one thing: the Princess's crown. He wasn't sure why he bothered trying to help the random girl running down the street, about to be caught by the guards. But she was about to change everything.orAU where the Queen never got sick before giving birth, so the Sundrop flower was never taken, and Rapunzel wasn't kidnapped. However, Rapunzel and Eugene still manage to find each other.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally going to just be the first chapter but i got the idea for the second one while i was planning it lol. hope you enjoy!

Eugene ducked into an alleyway as he neared the castle. He knew that the Princess’s crown would be right by her window, and he could easily drop down and grab it, then get away with no problem. He just had to be quiet and aware of his surroundings.

He couldn’t even feel a  _ little _ bit guilty about taking the crown. The Princess could easily get another just like it. Besides, from what he had the Princess barely ever even left that tower. He would be making much better use of that crown than she ever did.

Silently, he slipped into a doorway along the street, waiting for the patrol of guards to pass. He had their usual route memorized, so he was confident that there was no way he could get caught. They would be walking down the street within the next minute, so all he had to do was stay hidden and wait for them to walk past him. He peaked out, hidden in shadows, to see how close they were. 

What he hadn’t expected to see, though, was a girl in a dark hood running down the street, seemingly unaware that she was about to be seen.

It would be stupid for him to try to help her. Not only was it possible that helping her could put him in danger of being caught, but she might be after the same crown he was, so helping her would only hurt him. Not to mention, someone else getting arrested would be a great distraction and he could easily slip past the guards while their attention was on this girl. By all means, it would make sense for him to stay put and let her get caught.

So he had no idea why he chose to catch her arm as she ran past, pulling her into the doorway he was hiding it. Before she could react, he pressed her back against his chest and slapped a hand over her mouth. 

She tried to struggle against him, but he stayed still. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he mumbled into her ear. “But there are guards coming this way in about 5 seconds, so stop making noise or we’re both going to get caught.” He couldn’t imagine how creepy he must seem right now. Some random guy had just grabbed her and now was telling her to stay quiet. Luckily, though, she stopped moving and they both held their breath as the patrol passed by. After waiting to make  _ sure  _ they were gone, the girl broke out of his grasp. 

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Are you serious? Were you  _ trying  _ to get caught?” he snapped at the same time.

“I had it perfectly under control,” she said, folding her arms and glaring at him.

He rolled his eyes. “You were seconds away from the guards seeing you, I wouldn’t call that ‘under control.’” 

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” she asked again. 

“Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine,” he retorted sarcastically. “Name’s Flynn Rider. It’s been swell to meet you, but I’m gonna be on my way.”

“ _ Flynn Rider _ ? As in the  _ thief  _ Flynn Rider?” 

He couldn’t help but grin knowing his reputation precedes him. “The one and only.”

“You’re trying to steal something, aren’t you! You can’t do that!” she scolded. He raised an eyebrow, scanning her face to see if she was joking.

“Seriously? You’re telling me you’re  _ not _ here to steal something?”

She looked beyond offended at the accusation. “Of course not! I would never steal from Corona, or  _ anyone  _ for that matter!”

“Oh yeah? So you’re just sneaking around in the middle of the night trying to dodge guards as a hobby?”

She paused before answering, “That’s none of your business.”

He rolled his eyes and dragged a hand down his face. “You’re right, it’s not my business. So, you go ahead and keep doing whatever you’re doing, and I’ll just get going-”

“ _ No _ , I’m not going to stand back while you go steal something!” she argued. He groaned.

“Listen, Sunshine-” 

“Rapunzel.”

“ _ Gesundheit _ . No offense, but you’re not going to stop me.”

He turned around and started to walk away, before she called out after him. “I’ll tell the guards.”

He stopped in his tracks, then turned over his shoulder to look at her. “You’re clearly running from the guards, too, are you really going to bring us both down over a teeny tiny theft?”

She nodded indignantly. “So you can either leave Corona  _ without  _ stealing anything, or we’ll  _ both _ get caught.”

He really shouldn’t have helped her. He  _ knew  _ that the cons far outweighed the pros, but he still decided to do it, and  _ this  _ is how she repaid him. He groaned in annoyance. “Why?” he said shortly.

“Because stealing is wrong!”

“Then what are  _ you  _ doing here?!”

Her face scrunched up as she stared back at him, trying to find an answer. After a moment, she looked like she had decided on one. “Fine. My parents are always watching over me and keeping me inside, so I snuck out to see the kingdom.”

Eugene hadn’t really expected that. He was pretty sure she was another thief that was just incredibly upset about how he was better than her. He wouldn’t have guessed that this grown woman was being held back by her parents’ rules. “Seriously? You’re not a child, why don’t you just leave? They don’t have to be in charge of you.”

She laughed quietly. “You would think so.”

He wasn’t sure why he did what he did next. To be fair, he wasn’t sure why he had even bothered to get himself involved in the first place. But he clearly wasn’t going to get away with stealing anything tonight since she was insistent on telling the guards if he tried. Besides, he knew what it felt like to feel trapped by life, and he understood where she was coming from. 

“You want to see the kingdom? I’ll help you,” he said. 

Her eyes widened slightly. “Really? Why?”

_ I have no idea.  _ “No one deserves to be kept away from the world.”

Her face brightened up and she took a step towards him. “Thank you, Flynn.”

“Don’t mention it,” he shrugged. “Seriously don’t. I can’t have people thinking I’ve gone soft,” he added jokingly. She giggled, and he could swear he felt his heart skip a beat. He chose to shove that feeling way down. He wasn’t going to get attached to this random girl he had just met. All he was going to do was help her out tonight, then he would never see her again.  _ The crown will still be there tomorrow, _ he reasoned.

He grabbed her hand and led her down the street, further from the castle. They easily snuck by patrols until they got away from the capital to a nearby forest. He knew that a forest wasn’t exactly the desired destination for someone that had been kept away from the world their whole life, but he wanted to bring her somewhere where they wouldn’t need to worry about guards around every corner. 

Nonetheless, she was enamored just walking through the forest. He could feel his heart quicken as he watched the way everything would excite her. She lowered the hood she had been wearing, and he finally got a good look at her face. She had brown hair that fell over her shoulders perfectly, and bright green eyes that he wanted to get lost in forever. There were light freckles scattered across her face, and he swore he had never seen someone so beautiful. When he called her Sunshine earlier, he had meant it as a joke, but it was definitely a fitting name. She brightened up everything around her when she smiled, and he couldn’t help but fall in love with her. 

_ In love? Really?  _ he scolded himself. He had just met her,  _ of course  _ he wasn’t in love with her. She just made her feel happier than anything else ever could, and the thought of being away from her made him feel empty. Definitely not love. 

They spent the rest of the night walking through the forest, stopping every time something caught her eye. Meaning they were stopping a lot (not that Eugene minded, he loved watching her experience small joys of the world). 

The two of them were leaning against a tree looking at the sky when she realized the sun had started to rise. “Oh, no, I have to get back before anyone realizes I’m missing,” she exclaimed nervously, scrambling to her feet. 

He wanted to stop her. He didn’t want her to leave, though he knew she had to. She didn’t say a lot about her parents, but he could surmise that they wouldn’t take too kindly to her sneaking off in the middle of the night. 

“Should I help you get back?” he asked. 

She hesitated, then shook her head. “I’ll go back on my own,” she told him. She took about 2 steps before turning back around. “Can you meet me in the doorway where we met tomorrow?” 

He nodded, feeling like his heart was doing flips inside his chest. She smiled and darted away, pulling her hood back up as she went. He watched her go, feeling a blush crawl up his cheeks. He wasn’t sure why, but he was starting to get attached to her after only one night. And now, all he had to do was count down the hours until he could see her again.

The crown he had wanted earlier that night was long forgotten. He had heard the phrase “the heart wants what the heart wants” countless times, and promptly ignored it. He liked to listen to his head, not his heart. 

But now, his head  _ and  _ his heart were only clouded with thoughts of her.

The next day, he waited right where she had asked him to after the sun went down. He felt almost nervous, and he didn’t know why. He had been thinking about her all day, not-so-patiently waiting for when he could see her again. He had never felt this way about anyone, so the feeling was uncomfortably foreign to him. 

His nerves immediately melted away when she appeared next to him.

“You came,” she breathed. 

“Of course I came,” he responded easily. Without another word, he offered her his arm and they quietly made their way back into the forest. Once they made it out of town without being seen, he looked at her excited expression as she was ready to run out into the world again.

“You know, you could have just come back here on your own, you’re pretty capable of avoiding the guards without me,” he pointed out. He regretted it as soon as he said it. What if she realized that that was true, and she didn’t want him there anymore? What he said was true, she  _ didn’t  _ need him, but he was beyond happy to be there with her.

“I know I  _ could  _ have come back alone, but it’s more fun with you here,” she answered simply. “You don’t need to be here if you don’t want to, I can-”

“No, no,” he interrupted quickly. “I, uh, I want to be here. That is, if you’re not already tired of me.”

A smile broke out across her face, and he really thought he would burst then and there. Everything she did seemed to make him feel like that, and he wanted to feel that way forever.

He couldn’t believe himself. After barely over a day of knowing her, he was already thinking about “forever.” But he couldn’t help himself when he was with her. Every time she smiled, he imagined what it would be like to get to see that smile every day. 

They continued to trek forward through the forest. Rapunzel was just as excited to see everything as she had been the night before, and he was equally excited to watch her. She seemed to be making friends with all kinds of animals she met, which he guessed was a byproduct of being as naturally kind and gentle as she was. He watched in awe as she seemingly communicated with a chameleon (he didn’t even know that there were any chameleons native to Corona). He smiled softly as she gently set the chameleon back on the ground. 

He couldn’t help but beam harder when she met his eye. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he couldn’t get enough of her. Her soft green eyes were shining brighter than the stars above them, and all he wanted to do was get closer to her.

And lucky for him, she was apparently having the same thought as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. It took a second to register what had happened, but he wasted no time in kissing her back. He brought his hand to her cheek to deepen the kiss, and she pulled him as close to her as he could. 

Yeah, he was definitely in love. 

They made the most of the time they had together. His brain tried to remind him that they had only known each other for 2 days, but that didn’t matter to either of them. He felt like he had known her all his life, and yet he wanted to know more.

But of course, the sun had to rise again. She once again left him behind to go back to her parents with a promise to meet him again the next night. “Goodbye, Flynn,” she whispered as she left. He wasn’t sure why, but something about that name felt wrong coming from her. He had been going by Flynn for well over half his life, but hearing her say it just felt  _ wrong. _ She made him want to be Eugene Fitzherbert again. That was terrifying, yet exhilarating at the same time. 

He looked on as she walked out of the forest, turning over her shoulder to take one last look at him, bathed in the light of the rising sun. She still hadn’t told him much about why she had to stay with her parents, but he couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to take her away. She had fallen in love with the small part of the world she had seen, and he wanted to help her see all of it. 

Maybe someday. 

He found her waiting for him in the same spot the next day, her eyes lighting up when she saw him. He knew he would never get tired of seeing her. He was completely in love with this girl he had just met a few days ago, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Together, they snuck through the streets of the capital, staying out of sight as they went. 

That was when Eugene noticed a mural he had walked past hundreds of times before without paying attention to it at all. It depicted the royal family, and he had never bothered to examine it before. But today it caught his eye and made him freeze in his tracks.

“Flynn? What happened? Why’d you stop?” Rapunzel asked. She followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. “Oh.”

They looked at the towering mural of the King and Queen standing with their daughter. Their daughter the Princess. Princess Rapunzel. And she looked jarringly familiar.

“You’re the Princess?” 

She bit her lip and looked down at the ground. “Yeah.”

He couldn’t believe himself. Why hadn’t he noticed before? He should have known. He shouldn’t have let himself fall in love with a  _ Princess  _ of all people. Was this some kind of scam to get him hanged? Why was she here?

“Flynn, I  _ promise  _ I can explain everything, but the guards are coming this way,” she said, gently pulling his arm. 

He looked over at her, still shocked. But he let her pull him away, just narrowly missing the patrol walking down the street. Once they had gotten far enough away, she let go of his arm and he took a hesitant step away.

“You’re the Princess,” he said again.

“Yeah,” she sighed, running her hands through her hair. “I’m sorry, I should have told you the day we met, but I just couldn’t.”

“I…” he trailed off. That’s why she didn’t want him to steal. That’s why she had been sneaking around. That’s why her parents kept her inside. It all started to make sense. “I understand,” he said finally.

She frowned, but had a hopeful glint in her eye. “You do?”

“Well, no, not entirely. But I’m trying to.”

“I just wanted a way out of my life as a Princess. I know, it’s selfish and wrong to leave, but-”

“Hey, no, it’s not selfish. You’re doing what makes  _ you  _ happy, and no one should hold that against you,” he consoled, walking closer to her. 

She kept her gaze on the ground, not meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry for not saying anything, but being with you… it feels like a way to be free. And I was afraid of losing that.”

He was sure that the fact that she was really a Princess would settle in his brain soon, because right now he chose not to think too hard about it so as not to panic himself. Right now, he chose to wrap his arms around her and appreciate the fact that he could be there with her, even if all odds were against him. 

“My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert,” he revealed out of nowhere. He just wanted to make sure she knew. 

She grinned and rested her head on his chest. “I like it.”

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at that. After years of trying to bury “Eugene” deep inside of him, he was becoming himself again and feeling accepted as he is. That was a feeling he had always wanted. 

But the gravity of his situation was starting to sink in. He was a thief in love with a princess. Even if he gave up thieving (which he would in an instant for her), he had still stolen a  _ lot  _ from the kingdom, and he was pretty sure that a heartfelt apology wasn’t going to cut it. 

Not to mention, she could get in trouble, too. If anyone found out that she had snuck out of the castle to spend her time with one of the kingdom’s most wanted outlaws… it wouldn’t be pretty.

Logically, he knew he should end things  _ now  _ to be safe before things got out of hand. The only problem was that he wasn’t sure he had the strength to let her go. He didn’t know it was possible for him to feel as happy and accepted as he did with her. So, screw what everyone else would think, he was going to stay with her as long as he could.

~

Eugene had never stayed in one place for long. His style was never about “settling down” in a city, and more about staying in a city for a few days, grabbing what he could, then leaving. 

But he had stayed in Corona for months because of Rapunzel. They saw each other every night they could, basking in the time they were able to spend together. Every moment with her felt like he was sitting in the warm glow of the sun, and he wouldn’t trade that for anything. Just being in her company was everything he could ever want. When they were together, they didn’t have to think about anything but each other. The rest of the world dissolved away, and it was just the two of them. Nothing could come between them.

However, back in reality, things weren’t going great in Corona. According to Rapunzel, tensions were high with Neserdnia, and her days were packed with meetings. They were trying not to get involved in a war, but they could find no agreement. 

“Sometimes it’s just all too much,” she sighed. “I know I was raised to do this, but I just… can’t.”

“You should run away,” Eugene suggested, almost surprising himself that the words left his mouth. Sure, he had imagined what it would be like to run away with her since they first met, but he couldn’t ask her to leave her life behind. He didn’t know what compelled him to even think to say that at that moment.

She laughed halfheartedly. “I wish I could.”

“Why couldn’t you?”

“I have an obligation to my family and my kingdom,” she recited as if she had been told it a thousand times. “My duty is in Corona, and I shouldn’t  _ want  _ to go anywhere else.”

He frowned. “You can’t beat yourself up just for wanting to go somewhere else.”

“I’ve always been taught that wanting more in life is selfish,” she shrugged sadly. He hated seeing her like this. Her parents wanted to keep her protected and ready to become Queen, so she never got the chance to be herself. And to make things worse, she was told to be ashamed if she wanted anything else. He tried to help her see that she shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting more out of the world than what she’s been given. 

“It’s not selfish. Besides, once you’re Queen, no one is going to be able to tell you what you can and can’t feel.”

She smiled at that. It was nice to remember that one day she would be the Queen, and nothing could stop her. “I wish things were different. I wish we could be together without sneaking around,” she lamented, not for the first time. He gave her a sad smile.

“Me too, Sunshine.” It’s moments like this where he wished he had lived a different life. He wanted to go back and be a better person so he wouldn’t force them into this situation now. If he could just go back and stop himself from becoming a thief in the first place, he could be with her without any complications. 

She hoped that when she was Queen, she could let everyone know she wanted to be with him, but he wasn’t holding his breath. He knew that the people of Corona wouldn’t exactly be thrilled seeing their Queen alongside a notorious criminal. However, knowing Rapunzel, she might not let anyone tell her not to. It was an endearing thought that she would try to change things as soon as she could, and he would be more than happy to spend his life with her. 

He had dreams of a future with her, but made sure he didn’t lift his hopes too high. Eventually, his luck would run out and she would see she deserves more than what he could give her. He knew that dreaming of a future in the first place would make it hurt worse if it couldn’t happen, but he couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to spend the rest of his life by her side. 

Maybe someday.

~

It had been a little over a year since they first met. Every time Eugene thought it wasn’t humanly possible to be any more in love with her, she managed to crawl her way deeper into his heart, and he didn’t mind at all. His heart would soar every time their lips met. She didn’t only break down his walls, she had completely obliterated them. He didn’t know how he had ever lived without her, and he wasn’t sure he ever would be able to again.

But earlier that day, he had heard some news that made him think he might have to.

“Eugene,” she called out, running up to him in the forest a few hours after the sun went down. She immediately threw her arms around him and squeezed her eyes shut. 

“So, I hear congratulations are in order,” he joked weakly. He wanted to kick himself as she let out a small sob at his words. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

“I’m sorry, Eugene, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled into his chest. “I wanted to fight against it, but the choice was made, I couldn’t do anything.”

It was announced today that Princess Rapunzel of Corona would be marrying Prince Joshua of Neserdnia to settle the disagreements between the two kingdoms. He had tried to stay calm ever since he heard the news, but his thoughts hadn’t stopped racing all day. 

“I should’ve stopped it, I should’ve stood up to them, this isn’t fair,” Rapunzel stammered. He sighed. 

“It’s not your fault, we both know you didn’t ask for this to happen,” he reassured softly. He took a deep breath before saying, “but I guess this means we need to leave each other behind.”

Her head shot up. He did his best to keep from collapsing in on himself, but he couldn’t keep his own face from distorting as soon as he said it. It has to be done, he knows that, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt more than anything he has ever done.

“But why should we? We’re happy together, we can keep seeing each other, why should we listen to them?” she asked desperately.

“If we got caught before, you might have gotten in trouble with your parents and I might have gotten thrown in jail, but when you’re married, we would start a  _ war, _ ” he said, refusing to look at her face. They both had been trying to come up with a way out of this ever since they heard the news, but any solution would end in disaster. 

“Let’s run away,” she blurted. “We can run, and not look back, and live out our lives together. It  _ has _ to work.”

He wanted to say yes. God, he  _ so badly  _ wanted to say yes. And he would do it if he didn’t care so deeply about her. But he knew how much she cared about the safety of her kingdom, and he couldn’t take her away from that. “It’s like you’ve said before, Sunshine. You have a duty to your kingdom. It’s your destiny to be the greatest queen Corona has ever seen.”

Her lip quivered in both sadness and anger. They had been backed into a corner, and there was no way for them to get out of it without catastrophic consequences. 

“Eugene…”  _ Please don’t say it. _ “I love you.” 

That made it hurt even worse. They had been in love from the first day they met, but neither of them had said it out loud before. And as much as he wanted to hear her say it, it felt like he was being stabbed with her words as she uttered them. 

“I love you too,” he said against his better judgement. “And I’ll never stop loving you, even if I never get to see you again.”

She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss him. In the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn’t kiss her. It would just hurt more for both of them in the long run, not to mention she was technically engaged to someone else now. But he still wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the kiss, knowing that this could be the last chance he gets to do so. 

“Things will be different someday, and we’ll be able to be together. I…” She stopped herself from continuing.

She wanted to promise that they would find each other again, but she couldn’t make a promise she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep. He attempted to smile as he brought his hand up to her cheek.

“You’re going to be an  _ amazing  _ queen, and I’ll always be watching you and cheering you on from the sidelines.”

She sniffed and managed to give him a thankful smile at the encouragement. They felt like the world was crumbling around them, and they would crumble with it as soon as they let each other go.

She got married 2 weeks later. He made note of all the things at the wedding he knew she wouldn’t like (other than the fact that it was happening in the first place, that is). There were swans at the entrance that definitely weren’t her taste. She had to wear shoes the entire time, and she had never liked not being able to feel the world beneath her feet.

He watched her from afar as she and her new husband walked through the streets of Corona. She had a smile plastered on her face that was almost hauntingly un-Rapunzel. She looked stiff and unhappy despite the way she was smiling at everyone she passed. 

That might be what hurt most of all. She wasn’t happy with this. She wouldn’t get a chance to experience life the way she wanted it. He could live without her if he only knew that she was happy.

He had known his luck was bound to run out. The universe was punishing him by bringing her so close to him then ripping her away without warning. He might have deserved it, but she didn’t. She deserved to be happy and live the life she wanted, not to be kept away from everything she dreamed of experiencing. It wasn’t fair. 

He should leave Corona. He hadn’t stolen anything since he met her, but he was still technically wanted in the kingdom. The problem, though, was that he didn’t think he would be able to handle being away from her.

So he settled for watching her from afar, forever wishing that he could be there with her. He hid in shadows and in crowds as he watched her slightly uncomfortable movements, wishing there was  _ some way  _ he could stop all of this. 

But he stood by, watching the love of his life on someone else’s arm. He had to learn to only live with the memories he had of her, the ghost of her lips on his. It wasn’t much, but it was all he had. He didn’t choose to fall deeply in love with someone he couldn’t have, but that was just what his heart wanted.

And he was forced to learn that that kind of love can hurt just as much as it heals.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel had been Queen for 1 year, and away from Eugene for 3. She felt alone, and more trapped than before. Unfortunately, something comes along and changes that, but not in the way she hoped for.

When Rapunzel imagined being Queen, she dreamed that she would be in control of her decisions for the first time. That didn’t turn out to be the case.

2 years after she married Prince Joshua, her parents abdicated the throne to them. She had thought that this would finally be a glint of hope in her life. Ever since she had been wed to the Prince against her will, every day was dull and monotonous. She didn’t get the chance to leave her room and see the kingdom outside the palace walls anymore. All she could do was fulfill her royal duties and dream of a life away from this. 

She assumed that becoming Queen would change that. Maybe now, she would have control of where she went and what she did. She was mistaken. As it turns out, becoming Queen was really just a title. Her life barely seemed to change, given that her husband was given most of the responsibilities as King. She was expected to stand by as he handled  _ her  _ kingdom. 

She had been the Queen for a year, though it felt like a lifetime. Attending meetings where advisors told her what to do and signing treaties that meant nothing to her got old fast.

She stood on the balcony of the bedroom she shared with a man she didn’t love. Sure, he was nice, but she couldn’t bring herself to love him. Luckily, she found out that he felt the same way. They had both been thrown into this marriage without warning, and neither of them thought of it as anything more than a contract. However, it was still a contract that they couldn’t break without letting everyone down.

She let the night air hit her face as she closed her eyes. Years ago, she would use the cover of night to sneak out of her room. Now, she was unable to free herself of the life she had been forced into. Her life was once full of hope and passion, now it just felt constantly numb.

She missed Eugene more than anything. It had been 3 years since she had seen him (well, 3 years, 4 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days, but who’s counting?). Heck, she had spent more time without him than she did with him. But that didn’t stop her from replaying the memories of the time she spent with him over and over in her head. Every kiss still seemed to linger on her lips after all this time.

Many of his wanted posters were still up, even though it had been years since he had stolen anything. She had requested that the Captain remove them, but he said that until Flynn Rider was confirmed dead or arrested, they were obligated to stay up. Every time she was able to go into town, she was met with his picture staring back at her. Although, a selfish part of her didn’t want them to come down. It was a reminder of the man she fell in love with all those years ago, and just seeing his portrait made her heart flutter.

She didn’t know where he was now, she could only assume that he was long gone from Corona. Maybe he had found someone else. She could only hope that wherever he was, he was happier than her. 

She took one last breath of fresh air before walking back inside and climbing into the shared bed. It didn’t feel like  _ her  _ bed, or even  _ her  _ room. It was just where she happened to sleep. It didn’t feel right. Nothing did. 

She would once go to sleep with the hope that the next day would be better than the previous, but she had given up those ideas. She was tired of hoping something would improve when she knew it wouldn’t.

The next day, she woke up ready to go through the motions of her day. She wondered, not for the first time, if there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. As it was looking, the tunnel went on forever, just as dark as it had been from the beginning.

She and the King were sitting in the throne room when the Captain walked in with a smug grin on his face. “Your Majesties, the guard has made a significant arrest today,” he announced. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. “And we need your approval for Flynn Rider’s death sentence.”

Rapunzel’s stomach plummeted at his words.  _ Flynn Rider’s death sentence.  _ She had wanted to see Eugene again, but not like this. Not when he was going to be put to death and there might not be anything she can do. The only solace she found in needing to be kept away from Eugene was the knowledge that he was safe and happy wherever he was, but now he was going to face  _ death.  _ She could only hope that she could find some possibility of saving him from his execution.

She had never liked the death penalty for  _ anyone, _ but she especially didn’t like it for Eugene. How could he have gotten caught? He took pride in being able to evade guards easily. Plus, she had assumed he wasn’t even in Corona anymore. He didn’t have any reason to stay, so she thought he had left years ago. 

It would’ve been comforting to know that he was near her the whole time if the circumstances were different. But now she was trying to save face as her world was crashing down around her.

“We need a formal hearing before sentencing anyone to be hanged,” Joshua pointed out as Rapunzel tried to subtly steady her breathing. “Bring him in.”

The Captain bowed and left the room, muttering to himself about how it was  _ Rider,  _ did they really need a trial? Rapunzel tried to get a hold of her thoughts, to stop herself from panicking. She wished she could stop her heart from racing and her face from flushing. She did her best to look as normal as possible.

“We should abolish the death penalty,” she stated as calmly as she could. “It seems unfair to focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation.”

Her husband just shrugged. “But maybe people like him deserve it,” he responded simply. That made her skin crawl. _Of_ _course_ he didn’t deserve death! Sure, he had committed crimes against the kingdom, but that was no reason to _kill_ him. She wanted to argue back, but she knew her opinion would be shot down. Besides, all coherent thoughts left her head when she heard a familiar voice outside the door.

“Come on, I don’t  _ really _ need to see the King and Queen. I’ll accept the death penalty without trial, I know you want to, Cap. There’s no need to bring me in to see them, right?”

She frowned, listening to him do his best to reason with the Captain so he didn’t have to see her.  _ Would he really rather be given a death sentence than see me? _

However, as soon as the doors opened, she understood why. For years, she had wanted nothing more than to see him again. Now, though, seeing him right in front of her and knowing that she couldn’t run to him like she wanted to, not to mention knowing that he would be torn from her again soon, hurt her even more than before.

It was like she was an addict that got a small taste of what she had been avoiding, and there was no going back. Their eyes met and she felt the rest of the world dissolve away like it once had when they were together. 

She was harshly snapped back into reality when the Captain spoke. “Flynn Rider has committed countless crimes against the Kingdom of Corona, and therefore must be severely punished for his actions.”

“His crimes are all from years ago, why should we assume he hasn’t seen the error of his ways and started following the law? We should encourage reformation, and we can’t do that if we’re killing those who have spent years on the right side of the law,” Rapunzel rebutted confidently. Everyone in the room looked shocked that she was defending him, even Eugene. Nonetheless, she held her ground.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, he hasn’t been  _ proven  _ to have committed any crimes in the past few years, but that doesn’t mean he’s on the right side of the law. He probably just got better at covering his trail,” the Captain argued.

She looked directly at Eugene. “Have you been committing crimes?” she asked.

He let a slight grin creep up his face. “No, I haven’t.” 

Rapunzel turned to the Captain and shrugged. “He says he hasn’t.”

The Captain sputtered helplessly. “I- bu- he’s not going to  _ tell  _ you if he has!”

“Rapunzel, I’ll have to agree with the Captain on this one. You can’t take the thief’s word on this,” Joshua chimed in. 

“Well, he shouldn’t be sentenced to death if we can’t prove he hasn’t changed,” she said. 

“He’s still a wanted criminal, we can’t just let him go!” the Captain yelled as if he was speaking to his men and not the Queen. Everyone could see that he was frustrated that the man who had been evading capture for years was now about to evade his conviction.

“Then we can put him in prison for now, and discuss the issue,” she reasoned. The Captain bit back a complaint, grabbing Eugene and pulling him out of the room. Eugene looked over his shoulder one last time, hoping to meet her eye. She gave him a subtle smile, desperately hoping this wouldn’t be the last time she got to see him. Joshua turned to her, eyebrow raised.

“Why were you trying to defend him?”

She shrugged. “I don’t want anyone to be given the death penalty if there’s a chance they’ve changed.”

“It’s  _ Flynn Rider,  _ I don’t think he has the capability to change,” he scoffed. 

“I have faith that he could.”

Joshua simply rolled his eyes and walked out. After she was alone in the room, she dropped her face into her hands. Seeing him made her clearly remember everything she had been missing. The sense of freedom she used to feel whenever she was with him was gone, but seeing him had her feeling more alive than ever. 

Their situation was no different than it was before she had seen him again, but now she wanted nothing more than to be with him. Even if they weren’t able to be together, she still wanted the best for him. The least she could do was make sure he didn’t get hanged for crimes he committed years ago.

He was on her mind for the rest of the day. She knew that she could be persistent that they would  _ not  _ hang him, but what if everyone else wasn’t convinced? If the King didn’t agree with her, he could sign off on Eugene’s death sentence without her approval and that would be that. 

The more she thought about it, the more she knew that could  _ not  _ happen. She had to do something. She could be very persuasive, sure, but if he didn’t end up being persuaded…

She had to come up with a plan. Even if she couldn’t live the life she wanted to, she wanted to make sure that  _ Eugene  _ could. Not a life in a prison, but a life of freedom and happiness. She may not be happy, but it would make her feel so much better if he was. 

After night fell, she grabbed the black hood she hadn’t worn in years. She was a little out of practice in sneaking past guards, but it came back to her easily. Every move had to be perfect. Since she had defended him so strongly before, she would be the main target of suspicion if there was  _ any  _ proof against her. Breaking a convict out of prison would likely reflect badly on her. Each step was calculated carefully as she snuck down to the prison. 

She crouched low at the bottom of the staircase as a guard passed by, not seeing her. She discreetly grabbed the keys off his belt, and held her breath as he continued down the hallway. Once he was out of sight, she tip-toed to the other side of the hall, ducking behind pillars when she saw guards drawing near. 

She let out a small sigh of relief when she realized she had made it to the cell she was looking for. She made a mental note to get better training for the guard, as it really should _ not  _ have been possible for her to do this.

She peeked inside to see Eugene sitting on the floor, absently staring at a wall, seemingly lost in thought. The moon was reflecting off his face, making his eyes sparkle the way she remembered. His hair had slightly fallen over his eyes, and he hadn’t bothered to brush it away (it made her want to walk in and gently brush it aside for him). She wanted to take a moment to look at him and remember this image. This would likely be the last time she ever saw him, she wanted to stop to be able to look back on it. However, she didn’t have a lot of time. She knew she couldn’t have long before the guards came this direction again.

She stuck the keys she had snatched into the lock. His head snapped towards the noise, then his eyes widened when he saw her. “Hi,” she whispered, opening the cell door as quietly as she could. 

“Sunshine,” he breathed, a small smile on his face. Hesitantly, he walked over to her and grabbed her hands. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to make sure you would be okay,” she said softly, squeezing his hands. Her face heated up as she let herself get lost in his eyes for just a second. It was like no time had passed. They were in love despite everything against them, dreaming of a world with no problems. 

But their problems were omnipresent, and she couldn’t stay with him no matter how happy he made her. Despite how much she wanted to stay there, she slowly removed her hands from his grasp. “You need to leave Corona. I don’t know if I can defend you forever, and I need you to be free somewhere else.” 

He frowned, biting his lip. She knew he didn’t want to leave her behind, but it was important to her that he was alive and well somewhere else. She stepped back, starting to turn around to go. She didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to stop being in his presence. But she reminded herself that it was for the best. If they couldn’t be together, at least she knew he was okay.

He grabbed her arm and lightly pulled her back towards him before she could leave. He looked vaguely surprised, like he had almost expected her to vanish into thin air when he reached over to her. 

“I- how are you?” he asked uncomfortably. She figured that wasn’t what he had wanted to say, but he wasn’t going to say anything else. 

Rapunzel knew she had gone too far, and she should leave now before she hurt herself anymore, but being this close to Eugene was the best she had felt in ages. She wondered if she should lie, tell him that she was content here. Maybe that would make it easier for him to leave and be safe far away from Corona. But she never liked lying to him.

“Miserable,” she sighed. “I miss you every day, and I hate being Queen. I never chose this, I’m just so tired of waiting for it to get better when it never does.”

He frowned, pulling her into a hug after a moment’s hesitation. She melted into his embrace, almost having forgotten how nice it felt to be held so lovingly. She never wanted to leave this moment. Having him close to her was all she wanted ever since they had to separate, and she wasn’t sure she could ever bear to rip herself away from him now. 

“I couldn’t leave Corona,” Eugene said quietly. “I considered it, really, but I didn’t even want to think about being so far away from you.”

Rapunzel closed her eyes and smiled despite everything. She wondered how her life would be now if she had chosen to run away with him years ago. Her sense of duty kept her in the kingdom for her entire life despite how badly she wanted to leave. 

Maybe she did need to start thinking for herself. She had been told that she needed to stay in the kingdom, but had she ever really wanted to? Part of her had always wanted to leave, the only thing keeping her there was because she had to. She thought that at least once she became Queen it would be better, but that hope had left her when she had to get married, becoming even more of an “afterthought” than she was before.

She had to do what  _ she  _ wanted for a change, not what she expected of her.

“I want to run away.”

Eugene looked surprised, scanning her face as if to try to decipher if she was kidding. “But what about the kingdom?”

“There’s nothing for me here,” she whispered. “I’ve never  _ really _ wanted this, I just want…”

What  _ did  _ she want? She had spent her entire life living for other people, she hadn’t bothered putting much thought into what  _ she  _ really wanted. She used to imagine what it would be like to travel the world and explore new places. She had gotten a taste of what it was like outside the castle, but she wished to see what the rest of the world was really like.

“I want to see the world with you,” she decided. 

He couldn’t help but smile slightly. “You do?”

She nodded. The objections she had been conditioned to think of flowed through her brain, but she pushed them all away. Her supposed “duty” to her kingdom couldn’t hold her here forever. She had never had agency over her own life but she wanted a taste of that freedom. 

“I’ve put my obligation to the kingdom before my own life for too long,” she said, mostly to dismiss her own thoughts. She looked deeply into Eugene’s eyes, half-expecting him to object, but he looked fully in favor. 

“Well, Sunshine, who am I to argue with the Queen?” he quipped. She beamed up at him, grabbing his hand. 

With that, she left a quick note on the floor of his cell so no one would come looking for her, and they ran out, skirting past the guards just like they used to. She could practically hear what the people were going to say about her when they realized she had left. 

_ “She has no respect for the traditions of the kingdom.” _

_ “Rider probably manipulated her into wanting to leave her duties behind.” _

_ “It makes sense that she was defending him so strongly at the hearing, of course she would betray the kingdom like this.” _

But honestly? She couldn’t bring herself to care. She felt happier than she had ever been as she crossed the wall of the kingdom. She wasn’t trapped by the pointless rules she had always been expected to live by anymore, and she felt like she was taking a breath of fresh air for the first time in her life. 

They decided to settle down in a kingdom far from Corona with the promise to travel the world as much as they could. Rapunzel had years of being stuck in one place to make up for, and Eugene was more than happy to be by her side. She cut her hair in the hopes that no one would recognize her, and he thought that short hair suited her (but that might at least partially be because he would think she was beautiful no matter what). 

“Do you ever regret leaving your kingdom?” he asked one day as they sat together in the soft grass, the sun gleaming bright overhead. 

She paused for a moment. Did she regret it? Sometimes she missed the power and influence she had as Queen, even if that power came with so many strings attached. She missed her parents every once in a while, too, even though her parents were part of the reason she never got to experience life outside of the castle for years and years. She missed the kingdom of Corona, even though its laws were what kept her hidden away.

But when she looked at Eugene, the sun hitting his face in just the right way so his eyes looked golden, she couldn’t help but notice the way her heart soared whenever she was near him, no matter how much time they spent together. She saw the way he looked at her with more love than she ever thought possible, and she felt the same way. She thought of the way everything just felt  _ right  _ these days. She didn’t have to care about what other people thought she should do, she just had to do what she thought was best for her own life.

“No, I don’t regret it,” she answered truthfully. “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I didn’t leave, but… I’m glad I didn’t stay. This is where I’m meant to be.” He smiled as she leaned over to kiss his cheek, and she rested her head on his shoulder as the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. After a few moments, she asked, “What about you?”

He quirked an eyebrow up. “What about me?”

“Do you ever regret leaving your old life behind?”

“Never,” he said immediately. “I was kinda thrown into the whole ‘life of crime’ thing, and I was happy to leave it to be with you.”

She hummed contentedly in response, letting her eyes drift shut as she basked in the warmth of the sun and her feeling of belonging to the world. This was the closest to perfect that life could possibly get. She was happy and surrounded by love, with a bright life ahead of her, and that’s all she could ever ask for. 

Eugene was her home, and that was exactly what Rapunzel had always wanted. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there we go!! i hope you liked it, i definitely did not expect to write so much for this :') leave a comment and/or kudos!! have a nice day 🥰


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